Synagogue Church Releases Funeral Plan For Late TB Joshua

The founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as Prophet TB Joshua's funeral details have been released. 

The arrangement is said to start from July 5th with candle light procession, while tribute service and service of songs/all night praise is scheduled to hold from 6th to 7th of July. 

However, Lying-In-State is slated for July 8th, Laying-To-Rest service and interment will be on the 9th of July.

The organiser said 11th of July will be for the Thanksgiving service, noting that some of the programmes of the burial will be private while some will be made open to the public.

SaharaReporters had reported that the traditional ruler of Arigidi Akoko, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, pleaded that the cleric should be buried in his hometown, Arigidi Akoko, in Ondo State.

The monarch explained that other clerics including Prophet Moses Orimolade were buried in his Ikare hometown. He stressed that Prophet TB Joshua is treasured in his hometown and that he ought to be buried in Arigidi Akoko.

"My greatest regret is that TB Joshua could not complete the university project in Arigidi," the king said.

“He would bring rice to the people whenever we requested. He hated to see people go hungry. He was instrumental to the electrification of many communities in Akoko land after years of darkness,” he added. 

BREAKING: Court Orders Detention Of IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu Till July 26

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu till July 26, 2021 for continuation of his trial.

Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to years of campaign for the independent Republic of Biafra through IPOB.

He was granted bail in April 2017 for health reasons but skipped bail after flouting some of the conditions given to him by the court.

In a broadcast via Radio Biafra, Kanu boasted that the Nigerian court lacks the capacity to try him, describing the court as a Kangaroo court. 

He said the judge who asked his sureties to produce him should have asked the army why they invaded his residence. 

“Nigerian court is a Kangaroo court. I did not jump bail, I left because the court failed to protect me,” he said.

The Nigerian government on Tuesday announced his arrest and extradition to Nigeria to continue facing trial.

He was subsequently arraigned while being masked before Binta Nyako, a Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

SaharaReporters gathered that Nyako ordered the IPOB leader detained until July 26, 2021 for continuation of trial.

How I Spent 7 Hours In Same Room With Cobra Without Being Hurt, Says Bishop David Oyedepo

The General Overseer of the Living Faith Church International (Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, says he spent seven hours in his office with a cobra but came out unhurt.

According to a video posted on the church’s YouTube, the Pastor said the reason why the cobra did not attack him was because of his love for God.

He said, “You may read all the books I have written but until you discover my heartbeat for God, you don’t know my secret. God knows I love him, all the devils know I love God and God proves perpetually and unending that I truly love him. So He manifests himself concerning me at His own time. He does it naturally in all the realms.

“I was in my office and a cobra was found in my wardrobe, the third floor of the building and I worked in that floor seven hours in the previous night and the morning when they were cleaning, there was a cobra and it stood up. It was there all night and I was there. 

“Let me tell you this, when you become a lover of God, the enemy will leave you alone, because every attempt on your life will bounce back on him. 

“Everybody desires supernatural intervention in their finances but there is nothing you earn as wages that will be equal to wealth, it is the blessing of God that makes you rich and he adds no sorrow to it. So, to bring the hand of God to bear on your finances, whatever God says to you to do regarding your finances, do it.”

ABSU undergraduate jumps from three-storey building, dies

A 400-level optometry student of Abia State University, Uturu, has been confirmed dead after jumping down from a three-storey building.

He was reported to be on drugs when he jumped from his lodge called Favour Lodge located off the campus on Saturday evening.

Reports by students revealed that the deceased, identified as Francis Chibuike, in the video recorded after he took a hard drug known as Colorado, was unable to contain its effect.

According to some students, his friends reportedly locked him in the room and went in search of cassava flakes known as garri to restore him back to consciousness, but the deceased went through the balcony and jumped down from the building with blood gushing out from his head before they returned.

A student from the school, Paul Udo, in his Facebook post, said the deceased jumped from the stairs with head shattered beyond medical help.

Another student, Nnadi Thyword, while commenting on the incident, said: “Come to think of it; he is a medical student and ought not to be told the dangers of these drugs. It is doubtful to say that those who take these drugs don’t know the negative effects. This is simply an addiction.”

In the video made available to The Guardian yesterday, the student recording the video, who appeared to own the apartment, where Francis had taken the substance, was heard saying: “I told you not to take it, but you did. I told you I don’t like it. ”

According to a news publication, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the institution, Navy Commander ThankGod Evulobi (retired), confirmed the incident, describing it as one of the consequences of hard drugs.

According to him, the deceased, who is from Imo State, drugged himself and told his friends that he was going out only for him to jump out from the window.

Man beats wife to death over N2,000

A 45-year-old man identified as Christopher, on Saturday night, beat his wife to death over N2,000.

The incident happened at No. 1, Agbontaen Street, beside Ebvareke Secondary School, off Agboniro Street, Uselu, Benin City.

The man was said to have pounced on his wife, Mrs. Isoken Christopher, following her failure to give him the N2,000 loan he requested from her.

The eldest child of the deceased, Augustine Christopher, said his mother was hale and hearty before the sad incident.

The 13-year old boy explained that his father, who is a menial worker with a waste manager in Benin, always beats his mother at the slightest provocation.

According to him, the event that led to his mother’s death started with a phone call from his father to his mother when he requested N2,000.

“Following the call, my father came home at about 9:00p.m. and started beating and accused her of always embarrassing him each time he requested money.

“After the beating, I was trying to give my mother a paracetamol tablet and a glass of water she asked for when my father forcefully collected the water and drug from me and threw them away.

“It was after that she went out to pour water on her body and later lie down outside.

“My father locked us (children) inside the room and went out to pounce on my mother where she was lying down outside, already weak from the beating.

“That was when neighbours came and rushed her to two different hospitals where she was pronounced dead on arrival,” he explained.

The young boy said his father smokes and was always drunk.

A neighbour to the deceased, Mrs. Florence Obahiagbon, said it was the noise from the beating that attracted their attention.

“On getting outside, we met the man beating his wife and we tried to revive her by pouring water on her because she was too weak.

“We rushed her to two hospitals within the neighbourhood where they both said she was dead on arrival.”

Many Families Rendered Homeless As Nigeria's Capital Territory Administration Demolishes Over 349 Houses In Abuja

Many families have been rendered homeless following the demolition of over 349 structures by the Federal Capital Territory Authority in Lugbe-Across along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road in Abuja.

The operation which was carried out by the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation was tagged "2021 mother of clean-ups," and accompanied by armed security operatives.

Some of the victims said they were not given adequate notice before the task force mobilised bulldozers to the area and destroyed their properties. 

The demolition exercise which started at Lugbe-Across, Lugbe Berger, Car Wash, and Lugbe Zone 5 lasted about seven hours and affected shops and homes in the area.

 

But the Chairman of the team, Ikharo Attah, who supervised the demolition exercise explained that the operation was part of routine efforts on the Airport Road corridor, which he claimed was necessary to keep the nation's capital, Abuja, clean.

He added that Usman Nga-Kupi, the Chief of Garki, who was also in the entourage, bemoaned the fact that most of the spaces where homeowners should park their automobiles along the fence line had been converted to business centres.

He further stated that the FCT Administration had fenced the organic settlement for the residents waiting for resettlement but regretted that the plan had been contravened by those within the area, which violates the Abuja Master Plan.

He said, "The people have turned the fence line to a motor park, where car owners park and pay N1,000 on a daily basis.

"In line with town planning rules and to keep the city clean and safe, we are not going to be deterred. This comprehensive clean-up shows that FCT Administration is committed to keeping the city clean.

"One of the key issues is to keep to the acceptable standards; if you are driving in through the Airport Road, what you see is not befitting. Abuja Environmental Protection Board is doing well by evacuating the heavy waste, there are dumpsites at the back of the villages but some still come to the front to dump waste."

Attah also explained that the exercise was to ensure that Abuja, especially along the Airport Road is maintained in line with the best practices of orderliness and sanitation.

Planned Lagos Rally: Some People Threatening To Kill Us In Lagos—Igboho

Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, has persisted on his earlier stance to lead a protest in Lagos on July 3.

This is despite warnings by some Yoruba elders and the All Progressives Congress, APC, UK Chapter.

Igboho

Yoruba Elders have warned against the rally being hijacked by hoodlums to wreak havoc.

They cited the case of the #ENDSARS protests of last year which left Lagos burning after hoodlums hijacked the peaceful demonstrations to call attention to police brutality in the country.

Also, the APC, UK Chapter, urged Igboho, to shun the planned Lagos rally slated to take place on July 3.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Chairman of APC UK, Phillip Idaewor, urged the Yoruba activist to calm down and shun any planned protest, Daily Post Reports.

Idaewor stated that there were other ways for the group to channel their agitations.

He also stated that the rally should be suspended to avoid being hijacked by hoodlums to unleash terror on Lagos residents.

But Igboho, in a statement by his media aide, Onaolapo Omiyale Ademola, revealed that nothing would change the stipulated date for the rally.

He added that the march will be a “mega” rally regardless of what the security threats will be.

In another event, Igboho also declared that nobody can attack or kill him over the Yoruba Nation rally planned to hold in Lagos on Saturday, Nation reports.

Igboho, while receiving a vehicle presented to him by some donors to support the Yoruba Nation agitation, stated that nobody can tell him not to come to Lagos adding that the Yoruba Nation rally will go on as planned.

He said: “Some people are going about saying we shouldn’t come to Lagos that we’ll be killed, it is a lie and it is all false. Nobody has said he will kill Igboho in Lagos, and nobody has said Igboho should not come to Lagos

“I’m a true son of the soil, Lagos is a Yoruba land and does not belong to the Hausas or any other tribe, so let us focus on the current struggle and don’t let us dwell on rumours.

“Although in rumours, there are some elements of truth we are optimistic. Lagos is a Yoruba land and the majority of those in Lagos are Yorubas and the way Yorubas are suffering, many are not satisfied.

“We are not scared of anybody. We have done peaceful rallies across other southwest states and we are just creating awareness. We are not coming to Lagos to create crises or cause troubles. We are peaceful

“Those thinking we won’t hold the rally in Lagos are deceiving themselves; we call on the Lagos state government to provide security operatives to protect the agitators on the said date.

“Lagosians are ready to receive us peacefully on July 3, we are coming with a peaceful awareness too.”

Igboho, in the past few months, had led mega rallies in the capitals of South-West states such as Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osogbo, Akure, and Ado-Ekiti.

The rallies are organized by pro-Yoruba agitators under the auspices of Professor Banji Akintoye led Ilana Omo Yoruba group.

Lagos is the last of the six South-West states to host the self-determination rally. 

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has said that it is not aware of the planned rally.

The state police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, during an interview with SaharaReporters last week, said the command will react to that once it is notified of the rally.

“Not yet. We will update you when we are duly informed," he said.

Threats By Niger Delta Avengers To Attack Oil Installations ‘Unnecessary’— Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the threats by the Niger Delta Avengers to attack oil installations.

The militant group had in a statement threatened to “bring down” oil installations in the South-South, after accusing the Nigerian government of marginalizing the region.

NDA, which started operations in 2016, attacked oil-producing facilities that led to a huge decline in Nigeria’s oil production.

They also announced the launch of ‘Operation Humble', a new mission to resume the attacks.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, noted that the issues raised by the group had been responded to when the president met with the leadership of the Niger Delta and Ijaw National Congress (INC), at the Presidential Villa.

The statement read, “The media was Sunday awash with threats and demands by a group, Niger Delta Avengers, to embark on economic sabotage through bombing of critical oil and gas installations unless certain demands, including development of the Niger Delta, and restructuring of the Federation, were met.

“It is, however, curious that the threat was coming less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with the leadership of the Niger Delta and Ijaw National Congress (INC), at the Presidential Villa, and the germane issues had been responded to, especially call for restructuring of the Federation, and the inauguration of a Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”

Lagos Billionaire, Usifo Ataga, Was Tortured, Killed By Multiple Persons – Family

The death of billionaire, and former Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, has taken another twist as his family claims that he was tortured before his death.

Ataga was reportedly stabbed to death by one Miss Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300 level student of the University of Lagos, last week, in the Lekki area of Lagos. 

However, his family has called on the Nigeria police to properly investigate the matter as an autopsy carried on his corpse has shed more light on the incident.

The family believes that there were more than one person involved in the murder. 

A rope suspected to have been used to tie his hands was reportedly found inside the short-let lodging apartment situated at 19 Adewale Oshin Street in the Lekki phase 1 area. 

The deceased’s elder brother, Dr. Isi Ataga, in a statement entitled, "Who will speak for Usifo Ataga?" also confirmed these findings.

He stated, “Usifo died a horrific death. He was not stabbed two or even five times; he was stabbed multiple times. His hands were bound tightly and the marks were still all over his wrists, accompanied with evidence of torture and assault even as his corpse lay in the morgue. 

“And no one in the entire building heard his screams because he was gagged. Let that sink in, he was bound, gagged and tortured!”

“The now-viral video of the room with the deceased lying on the floor shows a room with blood-stained walls and floor, evidence of a ferocious struggle. One person could never have carried these out." 

Also, a childhood friend, Douglas Aniemena, stated that there were a "few shocking aspects of this heinous incident" which needed more investigation. 

Speaking with Vanguard, he said, "The brutal and gory nature of his body; the amount of stab wounds, bruises, bound marks and other inevitable torture marks on his body. The salacious stories, rumours, and false narratives were particularly shocking also, in a most distasteful way. 

"Usifo had a place in the VGC that he could have used apart from his home in Banana Island, Ikoyi. 

"He has multiple friends who own hotels and short let apartments in the very same Lekki Phase 1 estate and neighbouring Ikoyi, that would avail him of their facilities if he so needed or asked. So, why would he allow and agree to meet up with someone in a short-let apartment that the person had booked? 

"The only reason that makes remote sense to me, the only one I can fathom, and I will probably fall for as well, is, if it was set up as a place where some people or person I need to meet, perhaps investors, business I do not know, will come to meet and perhaps, do not want the publicity of hotel foyers or restaurants. 

"I do not really know. I am struggling with that one. One thing is clear to me, he was set up to go there. 

"The narrative introduced by the suspect, that he willingly gave her his ATM card and pin number, is as laughable as it is preposterous, especially with the proliferation of mobile banking. What would be the reason to give her his bank card and pin number and according to her, ask her to go and withdraw whatever amount she wanted? This is so absurd on so many fronts. Those who knew Usifo, will attest, that he would not talk and act like that; that is so unlike him. 

"That notwithstanding, does it make any sense to you that he wanted to give her so much money, mind you, within the ATM withdrawal limit, and could not just transfer whatever amount via his mobile app! Come on, withdrawals via ATM have daily withdrawal limits far less than the amount that can be transferred via mobile banking app which we know he had and was used to make payments, why would he not simply transfer the sums she claimed he was freely offering? 

"Does it not make sense that if this his supposed free will offering was to give you as much cash as you wanted, would he not have offered to transfer money to you as opposed to giving you his ATM card and pin number, (apart from the risk associated from divulging such, which is contrary to the behaviour of a person who was neither gullible nor naïve) would mean taking an Uber from the comforts of the apartment, to the ATM gallery, with the potential of standing in the queue and then needing multiple withdrawals to satiate your naira thirst."

Nigerian govt disowns anti-press bills before Senate

The Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government was not the sponsor of the controversial anti-press bills now before the National Assembly.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos on Friday, Mohammed said the two bills seeking amendments to the Nigerian Press Council and the National Broadcasting Commission Acts were sponsored by a lawmaker in the National Assembly.

He condemned the criticism by some members of the public, saying that those who have been berating him on the bills have been doing so on a false premise that the Federal Government had sponsored the bills to stifle the press.

He said such criticism was a classic case of misinformation, as the Federal Government did not sponsor any bill to gag the press.

He said: “It baffles me that those who rushed to the media to slam the government didn’t even try to verify the facts.”

However, he said the sponsor of the bills has done nothing wrong, as he only did what he was elected to do.

”I insist that the bills were not sponsored by the Federal Government. I was invited, as the Minister of Information and Culture, to make my contributions, just like many other stakeholders at the public hearing.

“It was an opportunity for stakeholders to make their input into the bills. I attended and made my contributions.”

Meanwhile, Mohammed said those falsely accusing the Federal Government and misinforming the public on the bills had a chance to make their contributions during the public hearing.

He said rather than show up at the National Assembly’s sponsored public hearing on the bills, they chose to play to the gallery.

The minister said: “The Nigerian Press Organisation, which represented the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, appeared there merely for appearance’s sake.

• Lai Mohammed leads Nigerian team to discuss with T...

“Instead of strongly stating their reservations on the bill on the Nigerian Press Council, they were more interested in stopping the hearing, hinging their argument on the case at the Supreme Court on the Press Council.

“It is a shame that some of us love democracy so much but hate the fine details of democracy and its processes. These critics will rather play to the gallery than do the needful. Why didn’t these critics show up at the much-publicized public hearing on these bills?

“Why have they instead opted to go hysterical in the media and to point accusing fingers at the Federal Government as the sponsor of the bills when indeed that is not true?”

The minister advised the critics of the bills to engage with the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics, and Values to convey their reservations.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had earlier said the President had nothing to do with the bills.

One of the bills is “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Broadcasting Act to strengthen the Commission and make it more effective.”

The other is a bill seeking to amend the Nigeria Press Council Act to enable the Council effectively carry out its regulatory role on media practice.